The House finally passed budget legislation this evening that’s designed to keep the country from defaulting on its debt. But even if the bill survives the Senate and the President signs it into law (both rather doubtful at this point), there’s the question of whether it would save the country’s AAA credit rating? Not likely, according to Moody’s.
Daily Archives: July 29, 2011
Q2 GDP Rises By A Weak 1.3%
Economic growth remained sluggish in the second quarter, the government reports. Real GDP rose at a 1.3% annualized pace during April through June, the slowest pace since the recession ended. That’s up from the anemic 0.4% rate in Q1, but no one will confuse the latest number as anything other than a weak performance. The best you can say is that the growth rate is once again moving in the right direction. The trick is whether it’ll continue moving higher.
A Closer Look At The Drop In Jobless Claims
Yesterday’s news that new jobless claims dropped sharply—to under 400,000 for the first time in three months—raises the question of whether the good news will continue? “That’s partly up to Congress,” opines Mark Thoma, professor of economics at the University of Oregon. “If they keep bickering until the time to raise the ceiling passes, or if the deal they agree to imposes substantial cuts to spending too soon, that could put an end to any good news on the recovery for awhile.”